Guess who's increasing your health care costs?
Wondering who to blame over higher insurance premiums for 2018? Look no further than the Trump Administration’s efforts to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. Take a look at local news coverage from across the nation about how Republican sabotage efforts are raising health care costs for millions of Americans:
Alaska: “Alaska Insurance Division Director Lori Wing-Heier said if the government eliminates the CSR payments, the rates for a silver plan in 2018 will go up five or six percent from what they would have been…. Also, Trump’s move could widen the federal deficit. The Congressional Budget Office said ending the CSR payments, while continuing to subsidize premiums, would actually cost the government $194 billion over 10 years.” [Alaska Public Media, 10/13/17]
Arkansas: “In response to President Donald Trump's decision to end a subsidy for health insurance companies, Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr on Friday approved double-digit rate increases for the plans that will be offered on the state's insurance exchange next year… The premium increases are expected to be the greatest for so-called silver plans, which are the same ones the state uses to provide Arkansas Works coverage. In light of the potential increase in the cost of Arkansas Works, ‘I just have huge questions about the future of the program,’ said Marquita Little, director of health care policy for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/14/17]
Colorado: “Health insurance premiums being offered by insurers in Colorado in 2018 will go up by an additional average of 6 percent – beyond the increases already in place – because of President Trump’s decision to stop making cost-sharing reduction subsidy payments. The state’s insurance commissioner, Marguerite Salazar, made the announcement Friday afternoon, and like Gov. John Hickenlooper, called Trump’s decision ‘cruel and irresponsible.’” [ABC 7 Denver, 10/13/17]
Montana: “Reversing a decision from last week, officials on Monday said Montana health insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act will now be able to refile for adjusted insurance rates in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that made changes to the healthcare plan… State Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale said his office has notified the three health insurers that they may re-file. He warned consumers they would now likely pay more for insurance.” [Great Falls Tribune, 10/16/17]
New Jersey: “Both Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and AmeriHealth New Jersey filed for higher rates after President Donald Trump's moves threatened to leave them with an older, less healthy customer base that they will need to cover. ‘The federal government's actions will drive costs higher and create additional uncertainty, making a volatile situation even worse,’ said David Huber, Horizon's vice president and chief financial officer.” [Asbury Park Press, 10/18/17]
North Carolina: “A half-million North Carolina customers who buy individual health insurance from Blue Cross and Blue Shield will pay an average rate increase of 14.1 percent starting in January, the company said Tuesday…. Blue Cross also said that it had anticipated the Trump administration would eliminate another subsidy, called a cost-sharing reduction, which requires insurers to discount their plans for low-income customers. If not for that, Blue Cross officials said its ACA rate increase would have been close to zero for 2018, not 14.1 percent.” [News & Observer, 10/18/17]
Ohio: “Local insurance agents who sell health insurance plans and hospital officials are awaiting its impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to end subsidies covering low-income participants in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange. The average cost of coverage for individual plans sold on the federal exchange, commonly called Obamacare, in 2018 will be 34 percent higher than the average cost of coverage in 2017. Approximately 11 percent of that increase is attributable to the cost-sharing payment cuts, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance. ‘This will drive up the costs of silver plans for 2018,” said Matt Tharp, president of Central Ohio Group Insurance Agency Inc. in Ashland.’” [Times-Gazette, 10/18/17]
Oregon: “Oregon's business regulator on Friday ordered health insurance companies linked to the Affordable Care Act to increase rates to some of their customers in 2018 because President Donald Trump halted payments to insurers under the Obama-era health care law, a move that several states including Oregon said they'd fight in court.” [Associated Press, 10/19/17]
Pennsylvania: “‘It is with great regret that I must announce approved rates that are substantially higher than what companies initially requested,’ Acting Commissioner Jessica Altman said in a statement. Trump late last week announced the administration would no longer pay the subsidies to insurers, which help low-income people afford co-pays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs associated with health insurance policies. ‘This is not the situation I hoped we would be in, but due to President Trump’s refusal to make cost-sharing reduction payments for 2018 and Congress’s inaction to appropriate funds, it is the reality that state regulators must face and the reason rate increases will be higher than they should be across the country,’ Altman said. [The Hill, 10/16/17]
Arkansas: “In response to President Donald Trump's decision to end a subsidy for health insurance companies, Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr on Friday approved double-digit rate increases for the plans that will be offered on the state's insurance exchange next year… The premium increases are expected to be the greatest for so-called silver plans, which are the same ones the state uses to provide Arkansas Works coverage. In light of the potential increase in the cost of Arkansas Works, ‘I just have huge questions about the future of the program,’ said Marquita Little, director of health care policy for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/14/17]
Colorado: “Health insurance premiums being offered by insurers in Colorado in 2018 will go up by an additional average of 6 percent – beyond the increases already in place – because of President Trump’s decision to stop making cost-sharing reduction subsidy payments. The state’s insurance commissioner, Marguerite Salazar, made the announcement Friday afternoon, and like Gov. John Hickenlooper, called Trump’s decision ‘cruel and irresponsible.’” [ABC 7 Denver, 10/13/17]
Montana: “Reversing a decision from last week, officials on Monday said Montana health insurers participating in the Affordable Care Act will now be able to refile for adjusted insurance rates in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that made changes to the healthcare plan… State Insurance Commissioner Matt Rosendale said his office has notified the three health insurers that they may re-file. He warned consumers they would now likely pay more for insurance.” [Great Falls Tribune, 10/16/17]
New Jersey: “Both Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and AmeriHealth New Jersey filed for higher rates after President Donald Trump's moves threatened to leave them with an older, less healthy customer base that they will need to cover. ‘The federal government's actions will drive costs higher and create additional uncertainty, making a volatile situation even worse,’ said David Huber, Horizon's vice president and chief financial officer.” [Asbury Park Press, 10/18/17]
North Carolina: “A half-million North Carolina customers who buy individual health insurance from Blue Cross and Blue Shield will pay an average rate increase of 14.1 percent starting in January, the company said Tuesday…. Blue Cross also said that it had anticipated the Trump administration would eliminate another subsidy, called a cost-sharing reduction, which requires insurers to discount their plans for low-income customers. If not for that, Blue Cross officials said its ACA rate increase would have been close to zero for 2018, not 14.1 percent.” [News & Observer, 10/18/17]
Ohio: “Local insurance agents who sell health insurance plans and hospital officials are awaiting its impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to end subsidies covering low-income participants in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange. The average cost of coverage for individual plans sold on the federal exchange, commonly called Obamacare, in 2018 will be 34 percent higher than the average cost of coverage in 2017. Approximately 11 percent of that increase is attributable to the cost-sharing payment cuts, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance. ‘This will drive up the costs of silver plans for 2018,” said Matt Tharp, president of Central Ohio Group Insurance Agency Inc. in Ashland.’” [Times-Gazette, 10/18/17]
Oregon: “Oregon's business regulator on Friday ordered health insurance companies linked to the Affordable Care Act to increase rates to some of their customers in 2018 because President Donald Trump halted payments to insurers under the Obama-era health care law, a move that several states including Oregon said they'd fight in court.” [Associated Press, 10/19/17]
Pennsylvania: “‘It is with great regret that I must announce approved rates that are substantially higher than what companies initially requested,’ Acting Commissioner Jessica Altman said in a statement. Trump late last week announced the administration would no longer pay the subsidies to insurers, which help low-income people afford co-pays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs associated with health insurance policies. ‘This is not the situation I hoped we would be in, but due to President Trump’s refusal to make cost-sharing reduction payments for 2018 and Congress’s inaction to appropriate funds, it is the reality that state regulators must face and the reason rate increases will be higher than they should be across the country,’ Altman said. [The Hill, 10/16/17]
Rhode Island: “Rhode Island had approved rates based on the assumption that the federal payments would continue. In the days since last week's announcement that the payments would end, the insurance commission is working through an elaborate procedure to replace the original rates with higher ones… For Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the insurers with more customers, the change will cause the premium increase for ‘silver’ tier plans – the level eligible for cost sharing reductions – from about 12 percent to about 30 percent.” [Washington Post, 10/17/17]
South Carolina: “For months, President Donald Trump threatened to nix an Obamacare provision that helped health insurers pass along lower costs to their poorer customers…Although criticism from the broader industry was swift, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina — the state's largest insurer and the only one selling Affordable Care Act policies here — already planned for this scenario by pricing its 2018 Obamacare plans an average 31 percent higher to mitigate the potential financial fallout… S.C. Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer, whose agency approved that 31 percent rate increase earlier this year, explained that two-thirds of the hike is tied directly to the issue of cost-sharing reductions. He wanted Congress to extend the program through 2019 — and testified as much before a congressional committee last month — but said Friday that South Carolina made preparations assuming that federal lawmakers wouldn't act in time.” [Post and Courier, 10/14/17]
Washington: “Despite a compromise reached by two U.S. senators, health insurance premiums are expected to rise in Washington. That’s because of President Trump’s cuts in federal subsidies for health insurance discounts. The rates for 2018 are between 9 and 27 percent higher than initially proposed in June.” [Northwest Public Radio, 10/18/17]
Wisconsin: “Health insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act exchange will go up an average of 36 percent in Wisconsin next year, but government subsidies will offset the increases for most people, a state official said Thursday… A major reason for the stiff hikes is that President Donald Trump’s administration hasn’t said if it will continue certain payments to insurers, said J.P. Wieske, deputy commissioner of insurance.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/12/17]
South Carolina: “For months, President Donald Trump threatened to nix an Obamacare provision that helped health insurers pass along lower costs to their poorer customers…Although criticism from the broader industry was swift, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina — the state's largest insurer and the only one selling Affordable Care Act policies here — already planned for this scenario by pricing its 2018 Obamacare plans an average 31 percent higher to mitigate the potential financial fallout… S.C. Department of Insurance Director Ray Farmer, whose agency approved that 31 percent rate increase earlier this year, explained that two-thirds of the hike is tied directly to the issue of cost-sharing reductions. He wanted Congress to extend the program through 2019 — and testified as much before a congressional committee last month — but said Friday that South Carolina made preparations assuming that federal lawmakers wouldn't act in time.” [Post and Courier, 10/14/17]
Washington: “Despite a compromise reached by two U.S. senators, health insurance premiums are expected to rise in Washington. That’s because of President Trump’s cuts in federal subsidies for health insurance discounts. The rates for 2018 are between 9 and 27 percent higher than initially proposed in June.” [Northwest Public Radio, 10/18/17]
Wisconsin: “Health insurance premiums on the Affordable Care Act exchange will go up an average of 36 percent in Wisconsin next year, but government subsidies will offset the increases for most people, a state official said Thursday… A major reason for the stiff hikes is that President Donald Trump’s administration hasn’t said if it will continue certain payments to insurers, said J.P. Wieske, deputy commissioner of insurance.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 10/12/17]